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As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox.

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Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2019

We Do Far More than Meddle in Foreign Elections, Top Putin Aide Taunts

By Volodymyr Yermolenko

On February 11, Vladislav Surkov, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key aides and ideologists, published a reveling article called “Putin’s Long State.” It is not an ordinary piece; it makes the case for a new kind of Russian expansionism, and it should be read closely and taken seriously.

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2019

Sure, Ukraine’s Not Going to Elect a Pro-Russian President, but There Are Many Other Ways the Kremlin Can Interfere

By Sofiya Kominko

Russia’s attack on Ukrainian ships in the Sea of Azov on November 25 may have been a probe to test the West’s reaction before the launch of other offensives aimed at destabilizing Ukraine at a crucial time. 2019 is Ukraine’s election year. And it is one of double importance with presidential and parliamentary elections taking place six […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 12, 2019

Ukrainian Comedian Tops Polls but Race Far from Over

By Katie LaRoque

In a few weeks, a comedian may become the next president of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an unlikely candidate who plays an ordinary history teacher that becomes president of Ukraine on his popular TV series, Servant of the People, ranks as one of the most popular candidates in Ukraine’s March presidential election. Zelenskiy’s character, Vasyl Petrovych […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2019

New Political Platform in Ukraine Deserves Second Look

By Vitalii Rybak

On February 4, a group of Ukrainian politicians and activists announced the formation of a new political platform. In Ukraine, this would hardly make news. New political platforms are announced regularly, especially during election years. But this new platform, the Euro-Atlantic Agenda for Ukraine, deserves a second look. (We previously reported that this platform was […]

NATO
Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2019

Why the Sajdik Plan for the Donbas Will Not Work

By Maksym Khylko

In the last year, there hasn’t been any new momentum in the effort to bring peace to Ukraine. Amid this long-lasting stalemate, the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung recently published an interview with Martin Sajdik, special representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, under the ambitious title “We Have a New Plan […]

OSCE
Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 8, 2019

Legal Threats to Minister Imperil Ukraine’s Health Care

By Melinda Haring

Ulana Suprun just wants to get back to work turning around Ukraine’s feeble healthcare system. But she can’t focus on reforms now: the fifty-six-year-old radiologist turned health minister of Ukraine is under attack. Worst of all, she’s not sure who is behind it. On February 5, Kyiv’s Regional Administrative Court ruled to suspend Suprun’s authority […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2019

Is the Kremlin Really Afraid of a Farmer?

By Vitalii Rybak

Birthdays are typically lavish affairs in Ukraine. But not for Volodymyr Balukh, who will spend his third birthday in prison for the simple act of displaying a Ukrainian flag in Crimea. On February 8, the Ukrainian farmer turns 48. His case shows how Moscow harshly punishes Ukrainians in Crimea who have the temerity to protest […]

Russia
Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 6, 2019

Q&A: Why Are Ukraine’s Last Reformers Being Kicked Out?

By Melinda Haring

Less than two months before Ukraine’s presidential election, two independent-minded officials are being forced out. On February 5, Kyiv’s Regional Administrative Court ruled to suspend Detroit born physician Ulana Suprun’s authority to make any decisions or sign any documents as the acting minister of health. The court pointed to a regulation that limits an acting […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 3, 2019

Rating Ukraine’s Presidential Candidates

By Alexander J. Motyl and Dennis Soltys

Three candidates have the most plausible chance of winning the first round in Ukraine’s March 31st presidential election: President Petro Poroshenko; former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko; and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a politically untested comedian whose popular television show, Servant of the People, portrays him as an intrepid corruption fighter. Zelenskiy’s popularity can be explained as a […]

Russia
Ukraine
This is the picture

UkraineAlert

Feb 1, 2019

Two Big Problems with Ukraine’s Elections that No One Else Has Spotted

By Mykola Vorobiov

There are many reasons to worry about Ukraine’s elections this year. The 2019 elections may be as defining as those in 2014, when Ukraine left the Russian world for good. However, so far, most analysts have missed two factors that may play an outsized role. First, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is not only a sitting […]

Ukraine

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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2019

Why Andriy Bohdan is the wrong man for the time

By Yuri Polakiwsky

Despite his age, Bohdan has shown himself to be yesterday’s man. His personal profile is not indicative of the values that the public expects from its new generation of political leaders.

Democratic Transitions
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2019

Is Nord Stream 2 a done deal?

By Melinda Haring

The controversial natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany—Nord Stream 2—cleared its last obstacle this week.

Energy Markets & Governance
Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2019

Another one to watch

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine needs more people with rich experience like Leonid Antonenko's to dig into the data and speak out.

Civil Society
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2019

Mariupol forum puts eastern Ukraine on investors’ maps

By Andy Hunder

Zelenskyy and his team delivered a clear and concise message in Mariupol: they are committed to their people in eastern Ukraine.

Economy & Business
International Markets

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2019

What are Ukrainians willing to compromise for peace?

By Maria Zolkina

A strong demand for peace and the direct impact of the conflict do not make those who live in the government-controlled areas of the Donbas sympathetic to the most painful compromises.

Civil Society
Conflict

UkraineAlert

Oct 29, 2019

This should be Zelenskyy’s next big push

By Sergii Bondarchuk

Ukraine now has a chance to take the radical steps needed to re-build the SBU and establish a genuine security service under firm democratic control.

Corruption
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Oct 28, 2019

Assessing Zelenskyy’s first six months

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

In general, it seems that Zelenskyy believes all complex issues have simple solutions.

Democratic Transitions
Political Reform

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2019

Ukraine’s new parliament is moving fast but is it getting anywhere?

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s new parliament has been in session for more than fifty days and it’s been operating at a frantic pace, so we’ve culled together a list of the best and worst based on conversations with MPs, judges, attorneys, economists, and other experts.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Oct 24, 2019

Is Ukraine’s new judicial reform a step forward?

By Olena Halushka and Halyna Chyzhyk

Ukraine’s new judicial reform is not ideal but urgent and long-awaited.

Civil Society
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Oct 22, 2019

The real cost of Russian gas

By Evgeniia Chirikova

As a result of the Nord Stream 2 project, Europeans will get more climate-friendly gas and Russians will choke on coal dust.

Geopolitics & Energy Security
Oil and Gas